The Des Moines School Board is changing its schedule to give students more time in the classroom and teachers more time to prepare.

It may sound contradictory, but Des Moines Public Schools officials hope by eliminating "early-out Wednesdays" they can achieve both goals. For the past "eight or nine years," Iowa's largest school district let students out 75 to 90 minutes early on the middle day of each week. The goal of the weekly dismissals was to give teachers more time for professional development and more opportunities to plan and prepare for classes.

But Tuesday, the board decided it was time for change.

"It removes one kind of inconvenience for some parents in that you have this early out every single week that just causes some planning issues," district spokesman Phil Roeder said Wednesday. "This way, the school day is the school day and we’ll have the same hours throughout the school year."

Roeder said the change, which will take effect in 2019-20, means students will actually spend a few more hours in the classroom than they did this year.

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Phil Roeder(Photo: Register file photo)

As for teachers, they will make up that training time on full-day workshop shifts. Roeder said about once a month, students will have a day off from school but teachers will work, apparently using that time to enhance professional skills and better plan their curriculum.

The move hasn't prompted much of an outcry Roeder said, but he understands if some may not like the change.

“We realize that there’s not a 100 percent solution on any issue when you’re working with 33,000 students," he said.

The board is also still trying to decide on start times, which Roeder said won't be drastically altered, and the schedule for high school students. Those decisions will come before the month's end, he said.

New board member introduced

Dwana Bradley was introduced Tuesday as the board's newest member. She replaced Natasha Newcomb, who resigned, as the District 3 member.

Bradley, a mother of two, is a teacher at the after-school program at the Homes of Oakridge and spent seven years as a reading interventionist with Des Moines Public Schools. Her term expires in November of this year.

Dwana Bradley, the newest member of the Des Moines School Board, was introduced Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018.(Photo: Des Moines Public Schools/Special to the Register)

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